WEST BOYLSTON 
Excelling in all three phases of the game, the West Boylston/Tahanto Regional High School football team blanked Assabet Regional, 28-0, on Friday night at Goodale Park in a Central Mass. Division 6 quarterfinal playoff game.

The third-seeded Lions, who improved to 7-1, advance to the tournament semifinals against second-seeded Valley Tech (8-0) on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Milford High School. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

The sixth-seeded Aztecs fell to 5-4 overall.

For the second consecutive week, the West Boylston/Tahanto defense shut out an opponent. Last week the Lions crushed Murdock, 46-0.

Neither team scored in the first quarter, but the Lions got on the scoreboard at the 9:44 mark of the second frame.

After Assabet was forced to punt on fourth and long from its own 23-yard line, the Lions took over at midfield.

After runs by senior captains and running backs Devin Desautels and Ben Tasker, and senior fullback Alex Churchill, West Boylston/Tahanto was knocking on the goal line door at the Aztecs 7.

On a keeper, junior quarterback Alex Thomas bolted up the middle to paydirt.

Desautels ran for the 2-point conversion and the Lions were up, 8-0.

After the West Boylston/Tahanto defense forced Assabet to punt for the third time in the first half, the Lions took over on their own 15.

With one of its best drives of the season, a drive that featured a fake punt and five first downs, West Boylston/Tahanto drove to the Assabet 2 in 12 plays.

On third and goal from the 2, with just 41 seconds left in the first half, Churchill blasted into the end zone for a touchdown, behind the blocking of senior Justice Johnson and sophomore Ryan Noel. He also rushed for the conversion points.

The Lions owned a 16-0 lead at intermission.

After the Aztecs were forced to punt from deep in their own territory early in the second half, West Boylston/Tahanto had excellent field position at the Assabet 26.

With Churchill and Tasker doing the bulk of the running, the Lions advanced to the Aztec 1 in seven plays.

On third and goal from the 1, Churchill bulled his way into the end zone, scoring his second touchdown of the game.

The conversion run failed, but West Boylston/Tahanto owned a commanding, 22-0 advantage.

The Lions' final touchdown of the game came on a 65-yard interception return by senior captain and defensive back Bryan Hayes. Whenever Hayes touches the ball, good things happen.

The two-point conversion pass attempt went incomplete.

The third quarter ended with West Boylston/Tahanto in the driver's seat with a 28-0 lead.

Surprisingly, Assabet employed a clock-eating ground attack in its first possession of the fourth quarter, advancing to the West Boylston/Tahanto 36, before turning the ball over on downs.

“Two shutouts in a row, that's just huge for our defense,” Lions coach Dave Tinglof said. “Two touchdowns by Alex (Churchill), and Bryan Hayes with a nice interception return for a touchdown (was also huge).

“It really shows that these guys have been working hard all year,” he said. “We've been putting up a lot of points offensively, but this defense has really done the job, just like last year.”